15-member Delhi Technological University team is preparing to take part in the Formula Student Competition

Updated on: Tuesday, March 19, 2013

A15-member team from Delhi Technological University ( DTU) is preparing to take part in the Formula Student Competition, which is scheduled to take place from July 3-7 at the Silverstone F1 circuit, UK.

Ravi Dagar, a third year student of BTech in mechanical engineering, one of the team members, said, "The team-Defianz-is working on designing, developing and manufacturing a Formula 1 style (F1) racing car, which is defined as a singleseater , open cockpit, open wheel racing car for circuits. The team has students from across disciplines and will take care of five modules — engine and drive train, chassis, brake and steering, suspension and corporate to improve the functionality of the car."

The project is divided into three basic stages — designing, manufacturing and development, which will be completed in around 10 months. The team uses a Honda CBR 600 F4i engine that delivers up to 70 bhp and the car weighs 280 kg with a driver.

"The designing involved hours of brainstorming and research work to come up with the virtual model of our vehicle , followed by manufacturing and development , where the car is constructed using indigenous resources-plastic , wax for making the mould, foam, etc. Most of the components are self-designed and manufactured. Finally, testing is done with sufficient driving and maneuvering of the vehicle . We scrutinise the working of the car from all aspects before the competition," he explains.

Talking about the challenges the team is facing , Dagar says, "The lack of technical and professional guidance, lack of high quality standardised resources in India coupled with low precision manufacturing are the main hindrances. Initially , we had to spend a lot of money from our pocket. Telling the mechanics about the specification we were looking for and finding it took us time. There is social apathy to motorsports in India , I feel. In spite of that, our team has been participating since 2003 in the event and has won many accolades in many technical as well as cost events, being consistently placed among the cheapest cars," says Dagar. The team's main aim is to incorporate their technical skills into practice . Over 170 teams from across the world will participate in the event and the teams will be judged in line with actual F1 races.

15-member Delhi Technological University team is preparing to take part in the Formula Student Competition

More Education news